Dorchester County Public Schools -

Our teachers come to us from many directions, and Teacher of the Year finalist Anthony ‘Tony’ Thomas’ background is particularly unique. When the 25-year veteran of the Easton Police Department retired in 2013, he began taking education classes with the idea of teaching at the elementary level. However, when the Emergency Management, Criminal Justice and Forensic Science course opened at DCTC, he applied, as he enjoyed his time as a field training officer while on the Easton Police and wanted to help teach a new generation of criminal justice professionals. Mr. Thomas has now been in his DCTC classroom for nine years. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland College Park and a Master’s in Emergency Management from American Public University. Thank you, Mr. Thomas, for using your law enforcement background and education to keep serving our community. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Check out these Dorchester County Public Schools students - they're on the Bus to the Future! Today’s destination is the Teach Maryland Conference in Baltimore, organized by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to encourage young people to pursue careers in education. Keynote speakers include the 2023 National Teacher of the Year and the Maryland Teacher of the Year. Other presentations will include features on STEM education, diversity and equity, inspiring educational journeys and supporting a diversity of learning needs. The DCPS visitors were organized by Ms. Cherie Robinson, Teacher Academy of Maryland instructor at DCTC. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Today’s Teacher of the Year finalist has grown into her job while working for Dorchester County Public Schools. Christy Starling joined Sandy Hill Elementary School 12 years ago as an Instructional Assistant, having received her A.A.S. in Early Childhood Development from Chesapeake College. While assisting in a classroom, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education from Salisbury University in 2017 and became a teacher. She has since added a master’s degree from Gratz College to her qualifications and now teaches our littlest learners in the PreK – 3 classroom at Sandy Hill. A Cambridge native (although now living in North Dorchester), Ms. Starling was a C-SD graduate in the Class of 2001, and we are happy she has stuck with us as she has successfully developed her career in education! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

The DCPS Out of District application is now open for the 2024-2025 school year. This application is only good for the current school year and a new application must be submitted for approval each school year. For the 2024-2025 school year we are continuing the completely online application process. The link is also posted on the DCPS webpage For Parents. The application must be completed by April 30, 2024 for consideration. The only exceptions are for families that move after June 1, and/or Pre-K enrollment – that enrollment period for Out of District is from September 1 to September 13, 2024. Pre-K is not included in this process; enrollment for PreK will open in May as a separate link. Families with difficulty accessing the online link should contact your current school to schedule an appointment to assist. All applications will be processed through the Student Services office and families will receive notifications by June 30. As a reminder, no transportation is provided for out of district students. Students may only ride their assigned buses (home school) and parents are responsible for transportation for all out of district approved placements. To register for out of district, please use the link below. If you have questions, please call 410-901-6944. We look forward to a successful end of the 2024 school year and a fantastic 2024-2025 year! Link to register for out of district: https://form.jotform.com/240213779892162 #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

They read sitting in chairs, they read lying on floors, they read singly or pairs, they read in groups three, four, or more. Yes, it has been Reading Across America Week, with all sorts of special activities in the schools to encourage kids to read, read, read, and love it! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Teacher of the Year finalist Kierra Farrare is in her 7th year of teaching math to 7th graders at Mace’s Lane Middle School. A Cambridge native and 2012 graduate of Cambridge-South Dorchester High School, Ms. Farrare cites former DCPS social studies teacher Mr. Eric Otey as an inspiration. Each day Mr. Otey would give the class a quote to remember, and even now she remembers some of them word-for-word. Ms. Ferrare became a teacher “to join the group of people who take on the great responsibility of imparting wisdom into the youth”, believing teaching is “a calling”. Ms. Farrare has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Small Business Entrepreneurship from Frostburg State University, and a Master of Education in Secondary Education from Wilmington University. When not in the classroom, she can be found coaching basketball, playing chess, learning about different cultures, or just visiting restaurants with her friends and loved ones. But when she is in the classroom, we’re glad she’s in ours! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Thank you to the Cambridge Walmart team (aka Sam-I-Am, Thing 1 and Thing 2, and the Cat in the Hat) who stopped by Maple, Choptank, and South Dorchester School this week to share a few books with the kiddos, all in celebration of Read Across America Week! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Once a student has been part of Emma Brant’s classroom, they have a cheerleader for life! The Dorchester County Public Schools Teacher of the Year finalist says, “I want to make sure that every child that I have the privilege to teach knows that they have someone in their corner who will be here for them for the rest of their lives.” She continues, “I build lasting relationships with the students I teach, which allows me to set my expectations high.” Ms. Brant is Dorchester County born and bred, and a proud graduate of Cambridge-South Dorchester High School. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Salisbury University, and a master’s +30 from LaSalle University. Ms. Brant has taught for ten years, all at Choptank Elementary School, and this year teaches 3rd grade. We are so glad you came back and keep giving back to Dorchester County children, Ms. Brant! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Sweet, sour, or bitter? Thumbs up or thumbs down? Does it have fat? Vegetable, fruit, or something else? Culinary Arts and the Teacher Academy of Maryland, both programs at Dorchester Career and Technology Center, joined forces yesterday to answer these questions and more at ‘Child Nutrition Day’ at Maple Elementary School, sponsored by the award-winning DCTC chapter of SkillsUSA. Grades Pre-K to 5th took turns at stations run by the DCTC students comparing the tastes and textures of various foods, trying foods new to them, and learning basic information with which to make healthy food choices. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Introducing our first First Class Teacher of the Year finalist! Brianna Sann is spending her first year of teaching in a 1st grade classroom at Sandy Hill Elementary School – that’s a lot of firsts! A product of Dorchester County Public Schools and a completer in the Teaching Academy of Maryland program at Dorchester Career and Technology Center, Ms. Sann graduated from North Dorchester High School in 2018. She then earned an A.A.T. from Chesapeake College, a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education from Wilmington University, and is working on a Master’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Phoenix. That’s a lot of education, but there’s still so much to learn by being in charge of your own classroom. What’s Ms. Sann’s big takeaway this year? “Flexibility is the key. Teaching in an ever-changing environment encourages us as educators to be flexible and adaptable.” Thank you, Ms. Sann, for choosing to be in a Dorchester County Public Schools classroom! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Let’s celebrate Ms. Myesha Ford, Principal of Maple Elementary School, named Administrator of the Month for February! Congratulations! Here she is, with Interim Superintendent Dr. Jymil Thompson. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

It's School Social Work Week, and we pay tribute to our Dorchester County Public Schools social workers! These folks put in the effort every day to help us achieve our academic mission, with home, school, and community collaboration being the key to student success. Thank you! Rachel Chambers, North Dorchester Middle School Shayna Church, Hurlock Elementary School LaShona Coleman, Sandy Hill Elementary School Monick Conway, Choptank Elementary School Ashley Hayden, Behavioral Health Coordinator Katelyn Helwig, PBIS and Community Schools Coordinator Sarah Hopkins, North Dorchester High School Connar Hughes, NDLA, South Dorchester School, Vienna and Warwick Elementary Schools Ashley Leak, Mace’s Lane Middle School Angela Meekins, Maple Elementary School Kevonya Moment, C-SDHS Ashley Pinder, Maple Elementary School Steve Scott, Sandy Hill Elementary School Rebecca Skinner, Mace’s Lane Middle School Renee Travers, Choptank Elementary School Kawana Webb, Supervisor of Mental Health Services #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Colleen Carney, Dorchester County Public Schools Teacher of the Year finalist from Cambridge-South Dorchester High School, says she became a teacher because, “I want to help students overcome challenges in the classroom and be part of their support system to success.” She chose to teach social studies because, “I want to help students looking at the world around them realize that we have more in common between us than the differences that may seem to divide us,” plus a particular interest in history, thanks to her history buff Dad. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in History and Secondary Education and a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction, Ms. Carney is in her seventh year of teaching, all at C-SD, but has been a Viking much longer. Her high school in Vernon, New Jersey – where she grew up – were Vikings too! Thank you, Ms. Carney, for following your Viking destiny all the way to Dorchester County Public Schools! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

It’s Teacher of the Year season! Dorchester County Public Schools will name its Teacher of the Year and First Class Teacher of the Year for 2024-2025 on Tuesday, March 26. Over the next few weeks, we will be introducing you to the finalists in each category. Today we begin with Heather Rhinehart, 2nd grade teacher at Warwick Elementary. “My teaching philosophy includes meeting students where they are, developing strong relationships, and teaching my heart out!” So says Warwick Elementary’s Teacher of the Year finalist Heather Rhinehart. A teacher for 16 years, five with DCPS and all of those at Warwick, Ms. Rhinehart became a teacher because of her own love for learning. “From teaching stuffed animals, to playing school with neighborhood friends, I have always loved the excitement in watching others find success,” she says. Originally from Baltimore where she graduated from Open Bible Christian Academy, Ms. Rhinehart has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, and a freshly minted Masters in Curriculum and Instruction, just completed on February 29. A military spouse, Ms. Rhinehart could be teaching almost anywhere, so we feel particularly fortunate that we have her here. Thank you for your service to Dorchester County, Ms. Rhinehart! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Sandy Hill Elementary School was so excited to get started with Read Across America Week they hosted guest readers in classrooms on Friday. Interim Superintendent Dr. Jymil Thompson got into the rhythm of the classroom, reading to kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 5th grade. Other guest readers from the Central Office shared favorite books, and even a visitor to the Central Office, Dr. Frank Grossman, joined it. After all, readers make leaders! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

March Math Facts Madness began yesterday at Warwick Elementary School when the Viking Boys and Girls Basketball teams took a break from their playoff schedule to help the Huskies launch a month of math mania. Warwick mathletes went head-to-head in 60-second rounds with math fact questions and for each one they got correct, ‘their’ Viking would shoot a basket to earn them a point. It was an exciting, fast-paced way of reinforcing math facts, and gave the Vikings a good workout too! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Congratulations to these Dorchester County Public Schools students who won their school spelling bees, qualifying them for the Eastern Shore Regional Spelling Bee to be held tomorrow, March 2, 2024, at UMES! Top spellers were Cy’Ree McNair, 3rd grade and Trinity Deshields, 4th grade, Hurlock Elementary School; Landon Lewis and Everett Hinmon, Jr. (not pictured), both 7th grade, North Dorchester Middle School; and Autumn Knopp, 6th grade, and Marcus San Juan, 7th grade, Mace’s Lane Middle School. Good luck tomorrow, and be sure to take your B-E-L-I-E-F with you! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Today we say goodbye to Career and Technical Education Month, but hello to another student who has benefited from a CTE course, Evan Adams. Evan chose to take the Project Lead the Way Engineering course at DCTC, taught by Mr. Philip Albert, because he felt confident the rigor would give him an advantage as he continues his education. A soon-to-be graduate of C-SD, Evan is heading to Millersville University to study meteorology with a goal of working for the National Weather Service. We forecast bright days ahead for Evan! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Today we celebrate our ‘Leaplings’, those Dorchester County Public Schools students who were born on Leap Day, February 29, the date that only comes around every four years! A very happy third birthday to Sandy Hill Elementary student Zeke Lovett, born this day in 2012, and happy fourth birthday to C-SD students Cristina Mateo Antonio and Blake Todd, born this day in 2008. May your day be as special as you are! Zeke and Cristina are pictured below, Blake is off celebrating! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Important news for parents: My School Bucks is increasing their transaction fees on credit/debit card payments starting Friday, 3/1/24 to $3.25 per transaction. Remember you can always add money to your student’s account free of charge by sending in cash or check to the school cafeteria!